The Abyssinian cat comes in many different colours. I specialise in Silver Abyssinians. We are able to produce a complete rainbow of colours with the right combination of mating.
The breed is medium to large build and should look lithe and muscular. I particularly focus on this and my choices of diet and exercise, I believe, for them reflects this. Their overall appearance does look somewhat wild or jungle-esque.
The coat is short, fine, dense and glossy. The “ticking” is an important feature. Although possible in a domestic cat too- the Abyssinian’s ticking shows at least 4 bands of colour! Think of a wild UK rabbit or a squirrel’s fur type and you will get the gist. It is extremely difficult to photograph! So seeing an Abyssinian in real life is the best way to appreciate this about them!
Other defining features are their large cupped ear shape sometimes with tufts and Lynx-like. Also their eyes are almond shaped and often lined like kajal eyeliner has been used.
Prized for their dog-like devotions to their owners, they are active and alert, and will often follow you from room to room.
Did you know that Abyssinians regularly can be taught tricks and to retrieve? If you put the time and effort in – with the right cat and clicker training you can teach them basic things!
We use toys, laser pens, puzzle trays, clicker training, lick mats, and scratching posts indoors to keep them occupied.
Abyssinians are pretty quiet and will “chirrup” to say hello! They will follow their owner around and will climb onto your shoulders and “head bump” you to show affection.
Not known for being lap cats, although they do enjoy your attention and being stroked, these cats fit in really well with other cats, humans, dogs and horses.
We have owners who cat walk their Abyssinian on a leash outside and take the cats out in a cat carrier rucksack to see the world. We choose to enclose our garden and provide cat wheels, and a stunning bespoke cat tree.
When we switch our lights out at night; our cats also settle down and sleep (or move around quietly) on their beautiful slender legs and oval paws. They are extremely agile and despite their gymnastic abilities; we have only ever had a handful of broken items because they have been knocked over. Overall, they are very nimble and careful around our stuff!
Abyssinians just love to come up to your video calls and join in. Im sure they recognise Phil’s voice on the phone! They love to walk over your keyboard when you’re in a teams meeting and introduce themselves!
Another character trait is to scratch the floor before eating. Almost like a dog wanting to bury a bone!
They have low levels of aggression so generally it is unusual to come across an Abyssinian pet who has bitten or clawed a human. They are very good at sticking up themselves with a bigger cat eg Maine Coons and Bengals and dogs. However, I would not recommend them as a pet for a toddler. They do not have the character of a ragdoll for example.
Females 3.0 to 4.5 kg
Females 25 to 30 cm
One of the factors that attracted me to breed these amazing cats is their good health they enjoy compared to other popular breeds.
I know this for a fact. Anderson et al (2022) looked at the genome of 11,000 cats internationally. Incidentally, the scientists know more about the Abyssinian genome than any other breed of cat.
This amazing piece of research demonstrated that the work of breeders were successfully breeding out known issues. I challenge you to look at this report and search for the term “Abyssinian” and the term “Maine Coon” for example.
Abyssinian comes up 12 times.
Maine Coon comes up 58 times.
I rest my case.
We test for genetically known issues such as Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (PKDef) which causes anaemia and Progressive Retinol Atrophy (rdAc).
We use Langfords Diagnostic Lab for genetic testing. They are very quick and take a few days to provide a result which is certified. It is obtained painlessly by getting a cheek swab. We can also check the blood group of of the cat too.
It is sufficient for you to see the genetic results of the parents and deduce that the kittens will not carry the same issues. However we like to provide you with a test result of the kitten including their blood group. This is matched up with their microchip number. If in the unfortunate event, your cat developed health problems or needed an emergency transfusion, then you have the lab certificates to show the vet so you dont have to pay their prices for the same investigations.
If you DONT want the tests run, please let us know in advance. They are usually done between week 9-11 with our kittens.
Lots of cat breeds including Abyssinian can be prone to gingivitis , so having their annual checkup with the vet should help you keep ontop of that. This is a build up of tartar on the teeth which leads to gum disease.
Abyssinians are cared for in the same way as any other pedigree or domestic cat. They are pretty low maintenance!
I always think they are better than a dog since they dont need the responsibilites of dog walking and are a little less reliant!
We feed our cats on 4PAWSRAW which is a commercially tested and prepared raw food. Some of you may know they do dog food too.
I am a HUGE fan of raw food for cats as long as it is SAFE and TESTED. That means we take the threat of nasties like TB very seriously indeed. If we lose trust in the supplier then we switch our supplier – its as simple as that. Cats are afterall obligate meat eaters.
We do keep and intersperse the feeds with premium dry kibbles and high protein wet supplements. This is to change it up for the cats but also to reassure ourselves that our cats do not have any known food allergies when they leave.
As a new owner, you are free to try anything that suits your budget, is convenient and provides a complete nutritionally appropriate diet. I dont judge!
Changing cat food is exactly like changing dog food- introduce it carefully so it dosnt upset their tummy too much!
We use a ceramic water fountain so there isnt much substrate which causes cat acne. Water is changed regularly.
We also use Nexgard drops for worming and feeing. This is excellent and we do not have problems with either fleas or worms. Talk to your vets about a monthly program. Pets At Home Vet services offer a popular one for £15 per month. You can pay by Direct Debit to keep ontop of the care needs for :
We also provide a complimentary FREE 5 week Pet insurance for your kitten from Agria. After which, it is your responsibility to decide whether cat insurance is for you, or if you wish to continue it or find a different provider.
Cats , whether male or female do benefit from being neutered. There are better health outcomes for those who decide to do this.
A male will be very antisocial with spraying if you dont! A female will mate and pregnancies will occur if you dont!
Backyard breeding is not for the benefit or welfare of the cats. Its about turning large numbers of cats over for as little cost to the breeder as possible and kept for the shortest time possible.
Buying An Abyssinian Kitten Without Papers
The two most popular Cat registers are GCCF and TICA. An Abyssinian should ideally be purchased with registration papers showing you are the new owner and that you have a kitten registered with its breed, colour, age and a name registered under the breeders prefix eg WESTFORD CAISTOR. It will state if the kitten has been transferred into your name as pet/show or active.
This is really important because you are also establishing the background of the pet you have purchased ie it is showing 5 generations Abyssinians.
Buying a kitten without papers does not guarantee that:
Talk to us if you are looking for active papers on a cat to breed from and need support and mentorship. We will certainly consider it and overall our Abyssinian cat community want to encourage more Abyssinian ownership, showing and breeding responsibly.
We dont support and will sabotage any efforts to use us and begin a backyard breeding operation. We neuter all kittens for pet and showing before leaving us.
If You Are Interested In Breeding Abyssinians
Talk to us if you are looking for active papers on a cat to breed from and need support and mentorship. We will certainly consider it and overall our Abyssinian cat community want to encourage more Abyssinian ownership, showing and breeding responsibly.
Abyssinian require very little grooming. They have short hair BUT it still moults!
I find a really decent brush out keeps this to a minimum.
They do need their front claws clipping which you can do at home yourself and I provide you information in a kitten handbook on how to do this.
We had a wonderful local cat groomer based locally in Lincolnshire. Sadly she moved back to Spain. If you are a Lincolnshire cat groomer – please message us as we are looking for another one!
Des site not really needing grooming very much – it basically offers my Abyssinians the chance to go out in the car, get handled by someone else, get groomed in their amazing cat parlour. After a gentle face massage , they also get the chance to dress up too! The hunt for a cat groomer in Lincolnshire continues …….
Westford Cats is based in Lincolnshire, UK. We breed and show Silver Abyssinians. We are registered with the GCCF and produce some of the best Silver Abyssinians in the UK.
This breed is renowned for being friendly and intelligent. Doglike. Alot of abyssinians are trainable with treats and clickers. Some will retrieve!
We have clients who train them to go outside in their safe and secure cat carriers . We have clients who train them to go walks on leads. They love big and small toys. They lo cat wheels, cat trees, laser pens, pipe cleaners and cardboard boxes!
With their short densely ticked hair- their hair pattern looks unusual. Its easy to maintain. Just a quick brush out to help keep their coat in good condition. No need for lion cuts, shampoo, de-tangling, flea baths, wet and dry wash and degreasing etc
Despite being the 4th most popular breed GLOBALLY- there are on average only 140 bred each year and registered with the GCCF. Abit like the Old English sheepdog- help us keep this breed and the English types going so they dont breed out!
There is NO OTHER cat breed that the scientists know more about! They know all about the Abyssinian Cat Genome! Lithe and muscular, and described as jungle-like and wild-like.
